The invention relates to variances in how people metabolize substances and the effects this can have on the blood. Historically, this concept has been applied to nutrition through a process called metabolic typing. Metabolic typing has been used to help individualize nutrition. The hypothesis of metabolic typing is that there are individual variances in metabolism that preclude the application of a single diet that is healthy for everyone.
Metabolic typing looks at the inter-relationship of two of the body's major systems relating to the production and processing of energy: the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the oxidative system (OS). The theory is that one system predominates at a given time in an individual and determining which system predominates will allow you to establish their ideal diet.
In many industrialized nations, the incidence of obesity and illness such as diabetes, cancer and other diseases have been steadily rising over the past few decades despite increased spending on health care and the prevalence of more and more specialty diet foods. Indeed, people are bombarded with conflicting messages about the right way to eat, including eating for one's blood type, vegetarianism, juice diets, high protein/high fat diets, low-fat diets, raw foods diets, to name just a few diet philosophies. Some people go from diet to diet trying to find something that works, and oftentimes give up frustrated.
It has become apparent that people have different dietary needs and no single universal diet is right for everyone. Just as people can look very different on the outside, how their body processes food and nutrients can also greatly differ. Indeed, it is becoming more accepted that while some people thrive on a high protein low carbohydrate diet, others do better on a high complex carbohydrate diet with lower amounts of protein.
In order to understand metabolic typing, it is important to understand some basic interrelationships between blood pH, the nervous system, respiration and the Krebs cycle.
In the past, the relationship between the blood pH (relative alkalinity or acidity of venous blood) and relative health has been examined. Venous blood pH ranges from a low of about 7.24 to a high of about 7.65. Metabolic Typing practitioners propose that the ideal venous pH is 7.46 and even the slightest variance from this is pathological. If the actual pH is lower than 7.46 the blood is termed “acidic” and if it is above 7.46 it is termed “alkaline”.
The nervous system is divided into two parts: the cerebrospinal division and the autonomic division. The cerebrospinal division is more for voluntary activities whereas the autonomic nervous system is more for involuntary activities (such as heart rate, digestion, respiration, tissue repair, etc.)
The autonomic system exerts a regulatory effect on the general operation of the organism. As such, it serves as a major homeostatic control mechanism. It has two efferent neurons in series between the central nervous system and the innervated organ. Through this innervation, it influences the rate of metabolism, muscle tone of the viscera, blood flow, and other aspects of general homeostasis. The actions of the autonomic division are duplicated by various hormones, such as epinephrine, and drugs, such as acetylcholine.
The autonomic nervous system is sub-divided into two branches: parasympathetic and sympathetic. Each branch regulates a different set of metabolic activities.
The parasympathetic branch consists of two neuron chains, but differs from the sympathetic nervous system in that the first neuron has a long axon and synapses with the second neuron either near or in the organ innervated. The parasympathetic system appears to be in control during such pleasant periods as digestion and rest.
The sympathetic system, on the other hand, can alter the level at which various organs function, enabling the body to rise to emergency demands encountered in situations involving flight, combat, pursuit, and pain. In general, its action is in opposition to that of the parasympathetic nervous system. However, it cannot be stated that one is excitatory and the other is relaxing. It depends which organs one is referring to.
The dualistic, or push-pull phenomenon of the two branches is what enables them to work together in a synchronized manner to regulate all involuntary metabolic processes in the body. For example, the sympathetic system speeds up heart rate while the parasympathetic system slows it down. However, in the case of other involuntary functions, the roles can be reversed. For instance, the parasympathetic system activates the secretion of stomach acid and contraction of the stomach muscles to initiate digestion, whereas the sympathetic system can shut it down.
It is hypothesized that most people are neurologically influenced more strongly by either the sympathetic or parasympathetic system. People also vary in the degree by which the respective systems influence them. Possibly as a result of inherited or environmentally acquired differences, people have different physical, psychological and behavioral characteristics that correlate with either a “sympathetic dominance” (fight or flight) or a “parasympathetic dominance” (rest and digest.) It has been found that some foods and nutrients stimulate or strengthen one of the branches while having the opposite effect on the other.
The processes by which we convert food into energy is quite complex. Inside each of our cells (except mature red blood cells) are tiny oval-shaped organelles known as mitochondria. These organelles range in number from about 300 in fat cells to 4,000 in heart cells. The mitochondria are often referred to as the body's energy furnaces because they convert nutrients into energy. This happens primarily through a complex set of interactions known as the Krebs cycle.
FIG. 1 is a simplified representation of the Krebs cycle. Essentially, the Krebs cycle involves a series of enzymatic reactions that transform carbohydrates (as glucose, then pyruvate) into intermediate substances. Proteins, in the form of their constituent amino acids, are broken down and fed into the cycle at different points. Fats (as fatty acids) are split into smaller compounds known as ketones or ketone bodies through a process known as beta-oxidation. These ketones are then further broken down into acetyl-CoA (acetyl coenzyme acetate), where they enter the top of the Krebs cycle.
The primary substrates, or raw materials, for the Krebs cycle are glucose (extracted from carbohydrate foods) and the end-products of fatty acid metabolism, assisted by amino acids. Most of the glucose travels down the “left” side of the Krebs cycle (after first being transformed into pyruvate) to form a compound called oxaloacetate, while the remaining glucose combines with the fatty acids and amino acids to form acetyl CoA, which then travels down the “right” side of the cycle. These substances are then further spun around the Krebs cycle with the help of additional amino acids, various enzymes, and organic acids. In back-and-forth biochemical transmutations, acetyl CoA reacts with oxaloacetate to produce citrate (citric acid), which then reconverts back into oxaloacetate until the coenzyme intermediates are shuttled out the bottom of the Krebs cycle into the electron transport chain to complete the production of ATP energy. The intermediates so produced (the coenzymes NADH and FADH2) are then passed into the electron transport chain where they undergo a further series of reactions. These reactions involve both receiving and donating electrons down the chain-to produce energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and water. The presence of sufficient oxygen within the cells is essential to the success of this procedure, and, accordingly, it is known as the oxidative process (after which the Oxidative system is named).
If insufficient oxygen is being delivered to the cells the entire process will be compromised. This is generally caused by an overly acidic venous blood pH or to an insufficiency of the enzyme (2-3 DPG) required to release oxygen from red blood cells. Another factor that compromises the efficient production of energy is an imbalance of raw materials fed to either “side” of the Krebs cycle.
As mentioned earlier, metabolic typing theory suggests that there are two main categories of people. These two categories are those whose energy is primarily influenced by the autonomic nervous system (Autonomic Types) and those influenced primarily by the oxidative system (Oxidative Types). Each of these two categories has subcategories that require different nutritional intake to maximize energy output. The so-called “Fast Oxidizers” tend to burn up glucose too rapidly. This requires a higher concentration of proteins and fats to be fed into the Krebs cycle to slow down the rate of glucose combustion. Conversely, “Slow Oxidizers” do not burn up glucose rapidly enough and require a higher percentage of glucose (and less protein and fats). If either of the Oxidative types eats a diet that is inappropriately weighted in the wrong direction, the result is insufficient energy (ATP) production and metabolic imbalance. Because ATP is needed to carry out all of our biological functions, this can have far-reaching consequences. For example, ATP is one of the primary factors in protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is necessary to manufacture enzymes that are necessary catalysts for every single biochemical reaction in the body: from digestion and the production of neurotransmitters and hormones, to immune function, tissue growth and DNA repair.
Some theorize that impaired energy production is a central malfunction that underlies chronic disease. Thus, the wrong “fuel mix” for one's Metabolic Type can have far-reaching consequences, and it is precisely these negative consequences that Metabolic Typing is seeking to avoid.
The other side to the oxidative process is the delivery of oxygen to the mitochondria. When we breathe in, the inhaled oxygen (O2) is picked up in the lungs by the hemoglobin molecules and then is released to all the tissues of the body. The hemoglobin then picks up carbon dioxide (CO2) and is exhaled. While oxygen is vital to support all life in the cells, the carbon dioxide is also vital, and serves as a catalyst that allows oxygen to be released from the hemoglobin. Indeed, the tissues require approximately three times as much carbon dioxide as they do oxygen. When the ratio of oxygen to carbon dioxide is correct, not only is oxygen more efficiently released to cells, but the blood vessels are more relaxed, edema is prevented, waste products are more efficiently eliminated, and energy production is optimized.
Oxygen in the body is alkaline forming and carbon dioxide is acid forming. If there is excess oxygen (or a deficit of carbon dioxide) the blood will be overly alkalized. Conversely, if there is an excess of carbon dioxide (or a deficit of oxygen) the blood will be overly acidified. This process is used in current protocols to help determine an individual's metabolic type. It is done by taking a series of baseline readings and then administering a glucose challenge drink. The drink is acid forming to the two oxidative types, thereby increasing their blood levels of carbon dioxide and decreasing their levels of oxygen. This has the effect of causing a relative increase in respiration rate as the body tries to compensate by breathing in more oxygen, while decreasing the ability to hold the breath (due to a deficit of oxygen). Individuals who demonstrate these and other related traits during the testing procedure will generally be the oxidative types.
In contrast, the glucose challenge drink is alkalizing to the autonomic types, thereby increasing blood levels of oxygen and decreasing their levels of carbon dioxide. Accordingly, their respiration will tend to react in the opposite way due to the presence of adequate amounts of oxygen. Therefore, their respiration rate decreases and their ability to hold their breath increases.
It is known that the rate at which the body metabolizes, or oxidizes, nutrition in food will determine whether a person is a fast oxidizer or a slow oxidizer. Taking venous blood and measuring its pH is one way that has been used to measure this. Individuals who operated primarily under the influence of the oxidative system could be characterized as fast oxidizers if they had relatively acidic blood or slow oxidizers if they had relatively alkaline blood. In contrast, in the Autonomic Types, relatively acidic blood would be called “sympathetic dominance” and relatively alkaline blood would be labeled “parasympathetic dominance”.
Because of the aforementioned variances in metabolism, the same food can have opposite effects on different people. A food or nutritional supplement that acidifies one person's system may alkalinize another's. Thus, one ideally should know one's metabolic type in order to find out what constitutes a well-balanced diet for that person. Not knowing one's metabolic type makes it difficult at best to know which foods or nutrients are best for each person.
Metabolic typing also shows why nutrition should not be used in a generalized fashion—giving a certain nutrient for a certain condition. Instead, for more consistent, reliable success, one must address the particular nutritional requirements of each person.